Devin Pierce Scheef
Scenic Design for Live Theatre
Copyright 2015. Devin Scheef. All Rights Reserved.
Written by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones
Presented by the Nevada Conservatory Theatre, January 2011
Directed by Glenn Casale
Lighting Design by Marihan Mehelba
Costume Design by Kehler Relick
Originally written and designed for small performance spaces, The Fantasticks demands a level of playful intimacy that can be difficult to achieve in a large proscenium theater. The set consists of a centrally placed miniature stage that evokes the look of a pageant wagon, flanked by fanciful scaffolding units that hold all the troupe's unpacked costumes, props, and furniture. Curtains made of patchwork scraps, footlights made of paper bag luminaries, and a starlit sky made of a dozen overhead chandeliers add to the sense of man-made whimsy.
A troupe of traveling performers stage a tale about a boy and a girl whose fathers pretend to feud in order to ensure their children fall in love and marry each other. But when the smitten children become aware of their fathers' plan, they must embark on their own separate journeys to discover if their love is real or just another fantasy.
The Fantasticks